Drum percussion devices are used or deployed to cause various forms or types of generally elongated mechanical members having a generally bulbous striking end, commonly referred to as "beaters," to selectively strike or beat a drum. The beater strike action causes noise to be made or generated which is used as background or as a significant component in an overall music scheme. The amount and type of such noise varies depending upon the force and pattern of the drum impact by the beaters.
While many drum percussion devices exists, it has been found to be very desirable to allow multiple beaters or mechanisms to strike the drum in order to produce multiple types and combinations of sound. That is, a single beater is only capable of producing a rather small and distinct set or amount of different sounds which may not be sufficient to allow many types of music to be performed. A single beater drum percussion device handicaps the drummer and degrades the production of many types of musical compositions due to its inability to provide a multitude of different percussion patterns and combinations. To alleviate these difficulties, many drummers use two single beater devices, each of which are operated by different and opposite feet. Thus, two feet and two separate devices have been used to alleviate these single beater difficulties. To date, Applicant believes that all such prior devices which allow such multiple beaters to strike the drum have required the use of at least two feet and two separate devices.
While the use of such dual single beater devices has increased the different types of percussion combinations which may be produced, they suffer from many drawbacks. For example, and without limitation, the use of both feet has been found to adversely affect the drummer's sense of rhythm since the drummer is required to actively use an unfavored and "un-natural" foot and to synchronize the action of both of these feet, making the task of creating these percussion sounds to be very complex. Secondly, the use of two single beater devices doubles the percussion generation costs and increases the complexity of both the percussion technique and the drum operation.
Moreover, conventional percussion devices require the drummer to continually use only the front portion of the foot. As such, these conventional devices have been known to cause focal dystonia which is a crippling of the front portion of the foot and is thought to be caused by repetitious actuation of these conventional devices by the front portion of the foot. This condition normally prevents a drummer from continuing to perform since the drummer's dysfunctional foot is no longer capable of operating these conventional devices. There is therefore a need for a drum percussion device which reduces the probability of acquiring focal dystonia and which allows a drummer having this condition to continue to perform.
There is therefore also a need for, and it is a principle object of this invention to provide, a device which meets the aforedescribed need relating to focal dystonia and which also allows multiple beaters or generally bulbous ended mechanical members to selectively and independently strike a drum by use of a single foot.